Episode 13 (S1)
Characters In Order of Appearance *Eiichiro Maruo *Hiromi Iwasa *Himeko Sasaki *Kojirou Kageyama *Takuma Egawa *Kiichi Ishikawa *Yukichi Fukazawa *Shinichi Hayama *Ryou Oobayashi *Hiroshi Araya *Takuya Miyagawa *Hayato Terashima *Yusaku Miura *Natsu Takasaki Summary On Eiichiro's match against Iwasa, Eiichiro gets confused on Iwasa's unusual style. He manages to deal with it but Iwasa cannot let him win easily. Synopsis As Eiichiro returns to the courts, Eiichiro wonders on how Iwase draws in the court. Kageyama then calls him out and tells about the top 8 of the tournament. Kageyama also teases him about how he is now included in the top 8. He wonders if he is actually worthy for it but changes his perspective as the fact remains that he won his previous matches. The match between Eiichiro and Iwasa begins, with Iwasa being first to serve. During the match, Eiichiro is having difficulty on analyzing Iwasa's play style as Iwasa's attacks are not based on what Eiichiro is expecting. Also, unlike most players he faced before, Iwasa does not try on taking control his opponent. This leads on Eiichiro having confused thoughts, thus, he does not know when to attack. But he thinks that Iwase has an incredible technique with good control even when running at fast speed. Even the coach, who is currently watched the match, agrees the fact that whoever faces Iwasa's play style for the first time gets confused. This unusual play style is based on Iwasa's desire to draw even when he was a child, thus, he improved his control in order to "draw" properly. Iwasa has already won three points in the current game but still, Eiichiro cannot determine on how to deal with Iwasa. All he knew was Iwasa is hitting a lot of lobs. Thus, Eiichiro decides to observe on what Iwasa is about to do. Iwasa has managed to keep his service game but Eiichiro remains bewildered on Iwasa's play style. However, Eiichiro guesses that Iwasa uses the ball's trajectories in order to draw, as Iwasa uses the lobs in order to replicate Van Gogh's Avenue of Poplars, with the drop shot as its finishing shot. During the match, Coach Miura and Iwasa's coach explains on how Iwasa's play style was developed. Instead of telling where to hit, the coach will tell the player to use the ball to draw lines. This leads on great improvement, like what had happened to Iwasa. As Iwasa hits another drop shot, Eiichiro tries to hit it and succeeds. But Iwasa never attempts to counter it, making Eiichiro to win the point. Iwasa feels happy as he can try a new art piece due to the abilities of his current opponent. On the other hand, Eiichiro gets an idea on how to defeat Iwasa upon realizing that his opponent will never counter after he hits a drop shot (his drawing is complete). Eiichiro decides to focus on hitting every shot that Iwasa hits and use control - something that he is already doing before. Upon switching gears, Eiichiro has managed to react better on Iwasa's attacks. However, every point becomes a long rally, making the audience wonder. Since neither players are changing their current play style, Coach Miura expects that this match may continue for a long period of time. During the break after the 7th game, Iwasa just realizes that he is about to lose in the match. He decides that he has not to lose in the match for him to draw more art pieces. On the other hand, while Eiichiro is currently on the lead, he feels that Iwasa will not let him win easily, especially with his incredible control. The following two games are at Iwasa's mercy, as he hits lines that will make Eiichiro unable to hit at all. Yukichi explains on how incredible Iwasa is, as he can manage to change the speed and direction of the ball the way he likes. However, Yukichi assures that Eiichiro may still have the possibility to win. During the break, Eiichiro reviews his notes in order for him to remember his optimal condition before. Manga & Anime Differences *In the manga, Shinichi Hayama was not shown in the list of top 8. *In the anime, when Sasaki asks the meaning of '15 - 0 (love)', Kageyama gives the explanation. In the manga, no answer is given. Trivia *''Popura no Komichi'' (ポプラの小道) literally means Lane of Poplars but Iwasa's "drawings" in the first game are actually based from Avenue of Poplars. Van Gogh also has an illustration entitled Lane of Poplars. * List of Paintings Iwasa used: ** Avenue of Poplars (Van Gogh) ** 53 Stations of the Tokaido: Hiratsuka (Ando Hiroshige) ** Flowering Plum Tree (Van Gogh) ** Water Lilies (Monet) Navigation Category:Second Kanagawa Junior Tennis Circuit Arc Category:Volume 4 (DVD) (S1) Category:Season 1